Highway 65 (Israel)

Published descriptions differ on Highway 65’s endpoints. A 2015 government guide describes it as running from Caesarea Interchange through Afula and Kfar Tavor to Nahal Amud Junction, serving travelers heading to Tiberias and the Golan Heights.[1] A 2016 report instead describes the road as ending at Kadarim Junction.[4] A January 2026 account describes its broad course as running from Hadera to the Nahal Amud area and characterizes it as a major transport artery between the coastal plain and the Galilee.[5]

The Wadi Ara section runs from Hadera to Megiddo Junction along Nahal Iron.[1] Wadi Ara is approximately 20 kilometers long, lies between the Menashe Heights and the Amir Ridge, and connects the coastal plain with the Jezreel Valley.[6] Highway 65 follows this valley past Arab localities including Kafr Qara, Ara, Ar'ara, and Umm al-Fahm.[6]

At Megiddo Junction, Highway 65 meets Highway 66; the Wadi Ara section ends there and the Sargel section begins.[1] Iron Interchange connects Highways 6 and 65, providing access from Highway 6 to the road toward Afula, Tiberias, and northern Israel.[1] Other sections of Highway 65 are known as the Valleys Road and the Carrier Road.[1]

The Iron Valley formed a vital stretch of the ancient Via Maris, with the village of Ara situated near its western entrance on the Hadera–Afula highway.[7] In 1913, a small group of young HaShomer members established a guard post near the entrance to Wadi Ara.[2] The post was also intended as a way station for travelers moving between the Mediterranean coast and the Galilee.[2]

A major expansion proposal announced in 2006 covered stretches of Roads 65 and 85 totaling 35 kilometers, then described as two-lane roads.[8] The proposed NIS 778 million project, called the Tiberias bypass, envisaged expansion to six lanes, an interchange at the roads’ T-intersection near Nahal Amud, smaller interchanges, separation works, and associated infrastructure.[8]

By September 2016, the Highway 65/85 project between Golani Interchange and Amiad Junction was described as a 27.5-kilometer, four-lane corridor with two lanes in each direction and eight planned interchanges.[9] Its reported cost was NIS 1.2 billion, and its aims included safer access to nearby communities and a faster connection between northern peripheral areas and central Israel.[9]

The Wadi Ara corridor includes the Arab localities of Umm al-Fahm, Ar'ara, Ara, and Kafr Qara.[6] Ara lies near the western entrance to the Iron Valley on the Hadera–Afula highway.[7]

Ein Shemer is situated south of Route 65, approximately six kilometers northeast of Hadera, within Menashe Regional Council.[2] Its population was 572 in 2015.[2] Daburiyya lies off Highway 65 at the foot of Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee, approximately eight kilometers east of Nazareth.[10] It received local-council status in 1961, has a jurisdiction of 7,200 dunams, and had a population of 10,039 in 2016.[10]

In 2017, daily traffic between Mishmar HaGvul Junction and the entrance to Umm al-Fahm was estimated at 40,000–50,000 vehicles.[11] Congestion was frequent between Ara and Umm al-Fahm, on a road described as one of two traffic arteries crossing the Carmel and linking the northern coastal plain with the Jezreel Valley.[11]

Highway 65 also forms part of a road-freight corridor from the Jordan River crossing toward Haifa.[12] The route follows Highway 71 to Afula, Highway 65 toward Megiddo Junction, and Highway 66 toward Highways 70 and 6 and onward to Haifa.[12] This was identified as the route currently used by trucks in a study considering the transport arrangements if a rail segment between Beit She’an and the border crossing were not built.[12]

A 2021 transport proposal envisaged a railway along Highway 65 through Wadi Ara, conditional on an economic feasibility assessment.[13] The accompanying package was to include bicycle routes from localities, bus service, and park-and-ride facilities.[13] The planned allocation for advancing project readiness and preparing land was NIS 500 million.[13]

In June 2026, petitioners to Israel’s High Court alleged that funds intended for planning mass transit along the Wadi Ara corridor had largely been spent on other projects.[14] They cited a planned NIS 557 million allocation and alleged that, of approximately NIS 194.5 million spent by early 2026, only about NIS 13 million—6.5 percent—had gone to the mass-transit project.[14] They also challenged expenditure on Nahal Hadera Interchange as outside the project specified in the government decision.[14] At the time of the report, the Finance Ministry said the petition would be handled through the courts, while the Transport Ministry had not yet responded.[14]

Notable features along Highway 65 include Wadi Ara, also called the Iron Valley, a roughly 20-kilometer passage that follows a historic route linking the coastal plain with the Jezreel Valley.[6] Near its western entrance, Ara stands along a stretch identified with the ancient Via Maris.[7]

Ein Shemer lies south of Route 65 near Hadera; the HaShomer guard post established there in 1913 served travelers between the Mediterranean coast and the Galilee.[2] Farther east, Daburiyya stands near Mount Tabor in the Lower Galilee, off Highway 65.[10] In the road’s northern reaches, Kadarim and Nahal Amud interchanges form part of the Highway 65/85 junction complex near the National Water Carrier.[15]

Eilabun Interchange opened as part of the Highway 65/85 project, replacing the intersection at the entrance to Eilabun and providing access to Highway 806 and surrounding communities.[9] It included two roundabouts and a 54-meter bridge, while the adjoining 2.5-kilometer section between Eilabun and Massad-Ravid was planned with two lanes in each direction.[9]

Another opening in 2016 provided a three-kilometer, four-lane section in the area of the National Water Carrier, Kadarim Interchange, and Nahal Amud Interchange, at the northern junction of Highways 65 and 85.[15] Kadarim was the sixth of eight planned interchanges on the Golani–Amiad corridor.[15] By December 2016, the Golani–Amiad stretch had been fully upgraded to a divided road with two lanes in each direction and a median barrier.[16] The Afula–Golani section had been allocated more than NIS 1 billion, with construction expected after completion of detailed planning.[16]

The 2025 road-development program included an approximately 18-kilometer project between Dovrat and Golani, designed as a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction.[3] Its scope included grade separation at six junctions—Ne'ura, Daburiyya, Shibli, Kaduri, Beit Keshet, and Ilaniya—together with a physical median barrier, lighting, agricultural roads and crossings, drainage, and landscaping.[3]

The project was divided into a northern Kfar Tavor–Golani section, a new Kfar Tavor bypass approximately six kilometers long, and a southern Dovrat–Umm al-Ghanam Junction section.[3] The northern and southern sections had a planned design speed of 100 kilometers per hour.[3] The estimated cost was NIS 1.085 billion, and the 2025 schedule anticipated all sections opening by the first quarter of 2027.[3]

In February 2026, Naaura Interchange opened within the Dovrat–Golani upgrade, replacing a signalized junction and providing a bridge connection to Highway 716.[17] The highway at the interchange was widened to two lanes in each direction and fitted with a rigid median barrier.[17]

A separate proposed upgrade covered roughly 50 kilometers between Hadera and Afula.[3] The 2025 plan included replacing signalized junctions with interchanges, adding a dedicated public-transport lane, and developing high-capacity public transport with transport centers connected to the Hadera and Afula railway stations.[3] Detailed planning was advancing along the route, including at the Nahal Hadera and Umm al-Fahm interchanges.[3] The estimated project cost was approximately NIS 6 billion, of which about NIS 1 billion had been received at the time of the annual report.[3]

The Dovrat–Golani stretch remained for many years a single-lane-per-direction road without a median, with unregulated junctions and no pedestrian crossings.[18] A report on its planned NIS 1.1 billion upgrade cited 48 deaths and 218 serious injuries along the full 90 kilometers of Highway 65 during the preceding decade.[18] On the specified 18-kilometer stretch, nine people had been killed and 75 seriously injured since 2013.[18] The proposed works would widen the road to two lanes in each direction and replace traffic lights at six junctions with interchanges.[18]

Earlier figures published in 2016 indicated an annual average of more than 100 crashes, approximately 350 injuries, and four deaths on Highway 65.[4] A separate December 2016 account gave totals for the preceding 14 years of 1,500 crashes, 88 deaths, 347 serious injuries, and 4,945 light injuries.[16]

Of those 88 fatalities, 49 occurred on the stretch of less than 20 kilometers between Golani Interchange and Afula.[16] At that time, this stretch was described as narrow and winding, with poor sight lines, access points serving rural communities and agricultural land, and no safety barriers or median separation.[16]

On March 1, 2001, a bomb detonated in a service taxi traveling from Tel Aviv to Tiberias at Mei Ami Junction in Wadi Ara, killing one person and injuring nine.[19] On March 20, 2002, a suicide bombing struck Egged bus 823, traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth, at Musmus Junction on Highway 65 near Afula.[19] Seven people, including four soldiers, were killed, and approximately 30 were wounded, several seriously; Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.[19]

On October 21, 2002, a car bomb exploded beside Egged bus 841 as it traveled from Kiryat Shmona toward Tel Aviv along Route 65 toward Hadera.[19] The bus had stopped at a bus stop when the bomber approached from behind in a jeep.[19] Fourteen people were killed and approximately 50 wounded; Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.[19]

On October 11, 2015, Alaa Raed Ahmad Ziwad carried out a terrorist attack by driving into three Israeli civilians and a soldier at the entrance to Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, near Hadera, and then stabbing them.[20] Security forces shot and arrested him.[20]

A roadside bombing at Megiddo Junction on March 13, 2023, critically injured a 21-year-old motorist.[21] Traffic jams followed while security forces searched for additional explosive devices and the perpetrator.[21] The explosive charge had been planted by a terrorist who infiltrated Israel from Lebanon.[22] Israeli authorities initially investigated possible Hezbollah involvement; a later analysis attributed the planning and execution to Hezbollah, which did not explicitly claim responsibility.[21][22]